In the DepEd, a Learning Action Cell is a group of teachers who engage in collaborative learning sessions to solve shared challenges encountered in the school facilitated by the school head or a designated LAC Leader. LACs will become the school-based communities of practice that are positive, caring, and safe spaces.
Key aspects of the process are ongoing collaborative learning or problem solving within a shared domain of professional interest, self-directed learning, reflective practice leading to action and self evaluation, and collective competence. The following are the objectives of this policy:
A. To improve the teaching-learning process that will lead to improved learning among the students;
B. To nurture successful teachers; 10.3 to enable teachers to support each other to continuously improve their content and pedagogical knowledge, practice, skills, and attitudes;
C. To foster a professional collaborative spirit among school heads, teachers, and the community as a whole.
LACs are the most cost-effective CPD process but may entail some expenses for meetings and handouts. Funds for the LACs may be sourced from the school’s Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE), subject to its utilization guidelines. Other resources may be generated by the school or schools divisions to support LACs as these endeavor to upgrade the quality of teaching and learning in their respective schools.
TOPICS FOR LAC SESSION
The content of LAC sessions may be determined by the teachers themselves under the general guidance of the school head or LAC leader. This may be done through needs assessment, the results of which should assist the LAC in listing their priority areas of learning.
Special emphasis must be made on some key features of the K to 12 Basic Education Program. It is important that the teacher-identified topics are consistent with the following broad areas of discussion that enliven the features of the K to 12 Basic Education Program as articulated in Republic Act (R.A.) No.10533, the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 and in various policies of the DepEd:
1. Learner Diversity and Student Inclusion
Successful teachers know and care for their students. Including learner diversity and student inclusion in the LAC sessions emphasizes that learners are the reason for all education processes. It is the central role of teachers to establish learning environments that are responsive to learner diversity. It underscores the importance of teachers' knowledge and understanding of, as well as respect for, learners' characteristics and experiences. Diversity emanates from a variety of factors (which may be in combination) such as gender, community membership, religious beliefs, family configurations, and special learning needs.
Teachers who celebrate diversity in their classrooms adjust and differentiate their instruction to include all learners and to foster harmony in their class. Furthermore, learner inclusion requires that teachers provide remedial instruction for those who are experiencing difficulties in learning lessons. Such interventions prevent failure and communicate caring by the teacher for students.
2. Content and Pedagogy of the K to 12 Basic Education Program
By studying the K to 12 curriculum, teachers will be better able to prepare for lessons and will be more relaxed in executing lesson plans. Only a confident teacher is able to implement developmentally-appropriate teaching methods that respect the individual differences of learners. Additionally, they can jointly craft learning goals in collaboration with their students. Content and performance standards and learning competencies must be mastered by teachers so that they can plan lessons, deliver instruction effectively, and assess the learning that resulted from their teaching.
Teachers can collaboratively plan weekly lessons during the LAC and these can be implemented for the specified period of time, after which, teachers can share their experiences to improve subsequent lessons.
While boosting teachers’ own critical and creative thinking, their skill in translating curriculum content into relevant learning activities also grows. Student learning will improve because the teacher will be more systematic and better contextualized to the learning needs of students.
3. Assessment and Reporting in the K to 12 Basic Education Program
Every teacher should understand how to implement the learner-centered assessment policies for the K to 12 Curriculum. Discussions about lessons should necessarily include ways in assessing the learning of students and how data from formative assessment can improve subsequent lessons.
Assessment provides teachers and learners with the necessary feedback about learning outcomes. This feedback informs the reporting cycle and enables teachers to continually select, organize, and use sound assessment processes.
4. 21st Century Skills and ICT Integration in Instruction and Assessment
Bringing 21st-century skills into the teaching and learning situation is a central feature of the K to 12 Basic Education Program. Teachers must enrich lessons with simple integration strategies utilizing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) that are developmentally appropriate. Instruction and assessment processes can be made more collaborative with ICT, which teachers can implement with the tools and equipment available in their schools.
5. Curriculum Contextualization, Localization, and Indigenization
Curriculum contextualization is the process of matching the curriculum content and instructional strategies relevant to learners. Student diversity requires that teachers always consider individual differences in lesson planning and implementation. Teachers identify and respond to opportunities to link teaching and learning in the classroom to the experiences, interests, and aspirations of the wider school community and other key stakeholders.
By linking new content to the local experiences that are familiar to students, learning will be more efficient for and relevant to them. The localization of curriculum is an essential feature of the K to 12 Curriculum. The teacher’s guide and learners’ materials may be modified to accommodate the unique contexts of a particular locality.
Deepening curriculum contextualization through indigenization is essential for communities that have cultural practices that are different from the majority of people in the same locality. Providing spaces for unique cultures in the K to 12 Basic Education Program is a key strategy for student inclusion and ensuring relevance of education processes for all learners. Teachers and school systems must make sure that the members of the community participate in indigenization processes, so that the curriculum will be accurate and faithful to the culture in consideration.
In addition to the topics that the LAC members have identified and those enumerated above, teachers should also find time to discuss how their community linkages can support the curriculum and how the LAC sessions promote their own professional growth. Furthermore, emerging and urgent issues or concerns affecting teaching and learning must be discussed during LAC sessions. These may include school data such as school participation, attendance, completion and assessment, child-finding activities, programs to be offered so as to include more learners in schools, results-based practices, and technologies, and school successes. LAC sessions also cover DepEd thrusts and policies relevant to the above-mentioned priority needs.
Source: DepEd Order No. 35, s. 2016
The Learning Action Cell as a K to 12 Basic Education Program School-Based Continuing Professional Development Strategy for the Improvement of Teaching and Learning
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TOPICS FOR LAC SESSION (DepEd)
Reviewed by DepEd Click
on
January 08, 2024
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Reviewed by DepEd Click
on
January 08, 2024
Rating:
Teachers and school systems play a pivotal role in facilitating this indigenization process. They should actively engage with community members, seek their input, and collaborate with them to develop culturally responsive and accurate curriculum materials. This collaborative approach will not only enrich the educational experience for students but also foster a sense of cultural geometry dash meltdown and identity.
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